Alone No More (Revised)
by Grantourer
Summary: Improved/partially remade. Better desc inside. When the young owner of a world renown research corporation travels back in time to a facility in the ice age snow and ice aren't the only things he finds. As his tragic past continues to haunt him William will find something he has been longing for a long time in the most unlikely of characters in the most unlikely of locations.
1. Chapter 1

**Really important note: I've decided to revise My Alone No More series since I wanted to redo ANM 3 and I thought it'd be rather odd to redo one fic thats more or less in the middle of the series without doing anything to the others. Admittedly I would of been fine leaving ANM 1, 2, and 4 alone but there have been some things I've been wanting to change and improve upon but I will admit they're not total rewrites. Some chapters will have been completely rewritten and others might have a portion of it rewritten and some will only have corrections and minor edits (but I think most of the chapters have at least been partially redone, most of the notable changes won't start showing up until ch3 when Buck and William first meet).**

 **I've also made a few changes to William and gone a little more in depth about his past and I've given him an accent (though he won't speak with it until ch3 due to personnel reasons of his). I've been working on all four of them on and off for over a year and this will be a more serious effort as my first effort was purely for fun and not as well thought out or edited. I will begin work on ANM 5 and my other projects once I've posted all of the new chapters to the improved series.**

* * *

Year: 2000 Location: Somewhere in former New Mexico now a separate country (Along with Arizona) under the Black Mesa Corporation.

A black Lamborghini LM002 flies down a desert road at high speed towards a massive research facility. Its lone occupant, 24 year old Dr. William Johnson, the president, and CEO of Black Mesa, was going to be travelling 20,000 years into the past. Black Mesa has had time traveling technology since 1978 and started building a new research facility in that time period in 1979; then a massive port and dry dock in 1981 and several island outposts, the first one being set up in 1990. William was planning on moving permanently into that time period, he already had a Manor and storage for is collections built and had all his belongings moved inside the massive house. As he reached the main entrance to the facility he contacts the man in charge of operating the time machine.

"Is the time machine warmed up and ready?"

"Yes sir, activating portal... now!"

A white flash lights up the underground tunnel where the portal is kept. Moments later the black SUV races through it, leaving the new millennium behind.

* * *

Year: 20,000 years in the past. Location: Black Mesa II.

There was a blinding flash and the next thing William knew he was barreling out a tunnel and up an incline into the light. Once he reached the top he slammed on the brakes and stared at the scenery that greeted him. While the area immediately outside the facility was relatively featureless just a few hundred yards ahead there was a forest with its snow covered trees and far away in the background he could only just make out what appeared to be mountains.

"So this is the ice age, I wonder what discoverys await me here." He said to himself, thinking of all the possible discoverys that awaited him just beyond the facility's fence. His thoughts were then interrupted by the arrival of the man in charge of the facility, Dr. Marcus.

"Ah, Dr. Johnson, its a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Dr. Marcus I presume?"

"Indeed I am and I come with some news I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear."

"Lets hear it then."

"First, that shape shifting device you designed has been built and tested. It has been successful but so far it can only morph into mammals but we are working on add-ons that will allow reptiles, birds, and maybe even some prehistoric species."

"Most excellent, and the other news?"

"Two days ago we made a... startling and most unexpected discovery; fresh dinosaur foot prints. They appear to belong to some kind of large theropod and they led into an underground cave. We haven't sent anyone down there yet and thought it'd be best for you to decide on how to proceed."

"Thats impossible, dinosaurs died off 65 million years ago and even if some of them managed to survive the comet and its aftermath how would they survive in this frigid climate?"

"I'm dead serious; these tracks are legit and we have reports from some of our workers out in the field of a strange, unusually loud roar."

"Interesting, well why don't you first take me to where my shape shifter is being stored and then I'll investigate this matter."

"As you wish." Marcus then led William into the facility.

William could not believe what he just heard. There was a dinosaur in the ice age, and he couldn't come up with a theory on how they could of possibly survived the comet, it wiped out all life on earth. Eventually they arrived in the room where the shape shifter was being kept.

"Well, here she is." Announced Marcus as he typed in a code which opened a bullet proof glass door and handed William the device.

It looked like a digital watch, except a bit bigger, and its screen showed a menu of species he could morph into and a small options menu. He put it on and started to scroll through the vast list of species.

"We also managed to give the shape shifter a device to adjust the size of anything you might have on you when you morph, for instance, if you were carrying a mobile phone and you morphed into a bear, the device will adjust the phones size so you can still use it in that form."

"Impressive, most impressive, you and your team have earned a bonus on top of that bonus I already promised, now, lets see what this baby can do!" He said excitedly as he scrolled through the menu and selected Bengal tiger and with a flash he turned into a tiger. "Oh my god this is freaking awesome, I feel like I can tear people to shreds now!" Then he morphed into rhino. "Now I'm a walking bulldozer, I love this thing!" He then went back to his normal form.

"There are a few issues I should address though. You can't morph if theres a large or heavy object anywhere on your body or if the space you're in is too small for the creature of which you wish to morph into and its not completely water proof, it can hold its own in a downpour but if it falls into standing water it will fail and you will be stuck in the form of the creature you're in at the time of the failure until we can make a new one."

"I'll keep that in mind, now, about that dinosaur. Where is the cave you said it went into?"

Marcus hands William a map. "This is a map of the entire area. We are here." He said pointing to the bases location on the map. "And the cave is where that there red dot is." He then pointed at the dot then handed William the map.

"Thank you." With that he took the map, morphed into a cheetah, and raced through the halls, dodging startled scientists and other objects until he got back to his Lamborghini 4X4 and took off at max speed towards the cave. However on the way there something started to bother him again, something that couldn't be fixed easily, his own mind. William had a bit of a troubled past which led to some minor to moderate mental issues. When in public he could usually control it but when alone things could go a little crazy with voices in his head, flashbacks, nightmares, and even the occasional hallucination.

" _Mother, whats going on?"_

" _Get back in the car sweetie, daddy will-"_

"SHUT UP, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" William shook his head about as he tried to make the flashback stop. "Where did that come from, there aren't any triggers around-… oh wait, its that time of the year isn't it?" William let out a long sigh as he tried not to think about it any further. "I hate Autumn."

A short while later William finally reached the cave were a group of scientists awaited him. "I take it this is the cave that the dinosaur is believed to have entered?" He asked curiously.

"Indeed it is. We have confirmed it does lead to what appears to be an underground jungle. Theres a bridge made out of the remains of a dinosaur that leads down there."

"Have there been any other signs of dinosaur activity?"

"No, but we did see a group of animals consisting of two adult woolly mammoths, two possums, and a smilodon head down there two days ago, though none of thats really important. So what would you like to have done?"

William stood there for a while pondering on what to do. He didn't want to risk his employees lives and he didn't want to send a military escort down there for fear of damaging the environment. "I know, I'll go by myself."

"Are you sure about this, its going be extraordinary dangerous down there."

"So, I can handle myself. I'm fit, an exceptionally good fighter, I know how to survive in the wilderness, and I have an ace up my sleeve: my shape shifter, I can just morph into another form and out run, out maneuver, or hide from an attacker. Now, I need some form of transportation that I can live in."


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: This chapter hasn't been altered as much as the others, mostly just cleaning up and rewording. If you've already seen the original and know how it goes than this chapter can be skipped.**

* * *

A few hours later and William was all set for his exploration. "If you don't hear from me in two months after each radio transmission just assume I'm dead and have my clone take control of the business." He said nonchalantly. He was quite excited; he was about to see something no human had seen before. He began to move forward into the cave. The bridge was only just wide enough to fit his truck: a big Ural 4320 6x6 with a KUNG on the back.

"Please don't collapse please don't collapse." He muttered to himself. Eventually he made it across as he drove towards the light. What he saw next made his jaw drop in awe: a large Mesozoic jungle lied right in front of him and sure enough there were dinosaurs here.

"How is this possible? How did this survive the comet?" He said completely dumbfounded by this strikingly beautiful underground paradise. "Incredible" He was soon interrupted by a crash and looked back to see an unusually large and very angry ankylosaurus.

"Well... timetogo!" He gunned it but the ankylosaur gave chase. It was able to keep up at first but soon found itself being left behind by the strange foreign object. William however kept his foot firmly planted on the accelerator as he flew past several other dinosaurs who just looked around confused, not one hundred percent sure of what just went by. He eventually slowed to a stop. He hadn't been down here for five minutes and he'd already been attacked, and not by a carnivore, but a herbivore. That was the first time William had felt that much terror in a very long time but the next thing he saw was ten times worse.

In the rear view mirror he saw a humongous albino baryonyx of which had to be at least 100ft long. William was scared stiff and beginning to think that maybe he bit off a little more than he could chew. Thankfully, the predator either didn't notice him or wasn't interested as it headed towards where he had just came from but he was confident it wouldn't go up to the surface. The cold climate would deter it and it would have to get past that heavily armored and very aggressive ankylosaur.

He decided to set up camp where he was and start dinner. While eating he heard what sounded like two large theropods engaged in a brief fight. There were a few roars followed by one roar that sounded like either a roar of anger or a roar of defeat (If not both) and another that sounded like a victory roar. He wondered what species they were. He expected one of them was that large baryonyx but the other sounded like it belonged to a different large theropod: gigantosaurus, tyrannosaurus, spinosaurus, he could think of many possible combatants. Then, after notifying the science team of his experience so far, he went to bed were his mind began to torment him yet again.

* * *

(Williams dream)

William was pulling up in front of his new manor in his black 1956 Imperial Southampton coupe. As he exited the car he heard a rustle in the bushes and out came a figure from his most painful memory.

"You! I-I remember you. You're the man who ruined my childhood and scarred me for life!" William shouted furiously, his blood boiling with rage as he took a fighting stance.

The figure just chuckled evilly.

"Whats so funny!? When I'm done with you it will be I who will be laughing! I'm gonna make you know pain and suffering!"

"Bring it." The figure said in a dark, menacing tone.

William, now completely consumed by rage, charged at the figure, ready to tackle him to the ground and deliver a beat down, but before he could strike a blow he found a knife being jabbed right into his heart as he fell to the ground dead.

(end of dream)

* * *

"NO!" He screamed, waking up panting. He then looked around and remembered he was in his camper. "Oh thank god, it was just a bad dream." _Go figure, these better not become too common or I won't get any sleep and wind up dead._ William then tried to go back to sleep, hoping that would be the last nightmare for a while.

(Meanwhile, elsewhere in the jungle)

A certain one-eyed weasel was also getting ready for sleep. He had just gotten back from helping a strange but enjoyable group of mammals rescue their sloth friend. They even offered him a chance to join their family but he felt that he belonged down here with the dinos, duking it out with his arch rival Rudy, but he was going to miss them and he found it unlikely that another mammal would find their way down here again. He then heard the roar of his arch rival. "G'night Rudy." and with that he went into a peaceful slumber.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Buck woke up to an unusual sweet scent. He'd never smelt anything even remotely similar ever before so he decided to investigate. He followed the scent to a small clearing where he saw... this thing. "Wot the 'eck is tha!?" He blurted out. The object in front of him was like nothing he'd ever seen. It didn't appear to be a plant or an animal, so what could it be? The object was big and long, it was multi colored, it was boxy, it sat on 6 wheels, it had several large holes on each side and up front, and it was the source of the sweet scent, so he decided to check it out.

He cautiously approached it and started to feel the surfaces. They felt like some kind of strange rock. The wheels felt very grippy but somewhat hollow. He then decided to see if it was edible, so he licked it, and very quickly spat it out. "Tha is the worst thing I 'ave eva tasted!" Then he checked the multi colored surface: it wasn't as grippy but it was much harder and it made a clang noise when he knocked on it but if the round, black substance was anything to judge this thing by then he wasn't going to try this substance so he climbed up to the holes and quickly discovered that they weren't holes but some sort of invisible stone or something. "Bloody 'ell, wots this? I can see through it but can't go through it... HOW DOSE THAT WORK!?" He then heard a sliding noise and bolted underneath the strange object and hid behind the wheels.

"Who's there?" He heard a new, thickly accented voice say warily, but he couldn't see who it belonged too. "No one, hmm, must be my mind messin' with me... again."

Once he heard the thing slide shut he came out from his hiding place and peered into the invisible surface and what he saw shocked him: it was a human. Wots a 'uman doing down 'ere... _and since when could they talk?_ He mentally questioned himself. He appeared to be quite young, at least in his late teens or early twentys, and was rather tall and appeared to be really fit and rugged. He noticed some other differences as well: his cloths didn't appear to be made out of animal skin, he wasn't particularly hairy, he looked very clean, and the thing he was eating didn't appear to be any sort of meat or even plant. It was also what was producing that sweet smell. They were round and light brown with a thick amber liquid covering it.

Buck wanted to know who this person was and why and how he got here. He was confident that if the human got aggressive he could take him. If he could take on a killer dinosaur 20 times his size then surly he could take on a human. So he climbed up into a nearby tree and waited.

(15 minutes later)

William was all set to go explore what the dinosaur world had to offer but as he stepped out the door he heard that voice from earlier again.

"Oi, 'uman!"

"Who said that!? Come out where I can see you but if you attack me it'll be the last thing you do!"

"Up 'ere mate."

William looked up to see a brown weasel with an eye patch and knife waving at him from a tree branch. _Is this real_? "Nah, can't be, animals can't talk, it has to be my mind messin' with me again." Ignoring the creature, he continued on his way until suddenly the one eyed weasel appeared right in front of him as it hung from a branch.

"'ello I'm talkin' to ya!" This greatly startled William as he lost balance and stumbled backwards into his truck.

"What the hell!? You-You really did jus' talk! How is that possible?"

"Us mammals 'ave always been able to talk, since when could ya 'umans talk?" Buck asked as he ran up to the downed human and began to check him out.

William was a bit freaked out now. A crazed one eyed talking weasel with a knife was crawling all over and sniffing him. "Do you mind, theres a little thing called personal space and I'd very much prefer that you respect it."

"I'm jus' curious."

"I don't care, get off."

"Fine" Buck groaned in disappointment. "So, wot brings you down 'ere mate?"

"Scientific exploration, which, if you'd excuse me, I would like to begin. Good day to you sir." William huffed as he got up and strolled off but Buck very quickly ran back up into the trees and appeared right in front of William, again startling him but not as much as last time and he managed to maintain his balance. "Will you quit that!?"

"Ya think you can jus' waltz around 'ere willy nilly?"

"Sort of"

"Well wot exactly are ya gonna do... when ya run into the beast?" The weasel asked rather dramatically.

"And what exactly is this beast?"

"I call him..." The weasel paused for suspense. "Rudy!" Buck said in a sinister tone as he gave a crazed expression.

"Not exactly a very intimidating name and I'm sure I can take him or at least avoid him. Now, if you'd excuse me, I'd really like to get goin'." William said as he walked around the crazed weasel.

"Doom awaits he who enters there!"

"I assure you I'm more than capable of fending for myself."

Buck wasn't convinced so he stealthily followed William through the jungle.

William, who was completely unaware he was being followed, was awe-struck by the beautiful scenery. Colorful creatures like the giant moths and microraptors which gracefully glided overhead only added to the effect. His sight-seeing was soon interrupted though by the rustling of the bushes next to him. He immediately sprang forward, only just dodging his attacker: a dilophosaur.

"Dilophosaurus eh, lets see what you've got." William said cockily with a bit of a smirk. He loved a good challenge.

The dilophasour responded by charging at William, who simply rolled out the way.

Buck watched with interest from the trees, he wanted to see where this was going. The human actually seemed to have the situation under control. Of course he would jump into the fight if the dino got the upper hand but so far that wasn't the case. Buck was about to be surprised yet again.

"Lets put the odds a little more in my favor." Suddenly William morphed into the form of a saber tooth.

"Blimey!" Buck was dumbfounded, he did not expect to see that. He watched as William pounced on the dino, knocking it over, and started to claw away at it until it broke free and ran away scared and wounded.

"LET THAT BE A LESSON!" William shouted towards the fleeing dino. He then heard some slow clapping behind him and whipped around getting in a defensive posture though he relaxed once he saw that it was just that weasel again. "How much of that did you see?"

"All of it." The weasel said as he casually leaned on a tree and examined his knife as if he were board. "Now I 'ave a question to ask... HOW THE BLOODY 'ELL DID YA CHANGE BODYS!?"

"Shape shifter" William replied simply. "It allows me to morph into any mammal I want, like this." William then morphed into a weasel.

Buck was awe-struck. "'ow does it do tha?"

"We'd be here all day if I had to explain how it works. Now, I think I shall continue on with my expedition, see ya." And with that the two parted ways.

As the days went by William made discovery after discovery, finding unheard of prehistoric plants and learning new facts about dinosaur behavior. He also had a fair share of fights with the common predators but they were nothing he couldn't handle, though there were a few close calls. So far he hadn't encountered any of the larger predators, though that was fine by him. He also came across that crazed weasel a time or two as well. They'd usually stop, have a brief chat, then continue on with their day. He took note of how well the weasel was suited to the environment, how it was able to do things better than, and even some things William couldn't do as a human, so he gave being a weasel a shot and soon found himself in weasel form more than his normal human form.

However all was not well. His mind kept bothering him more and more each day with the flashbacks, hallucinations, and even the occasional voice. The nightmares didn't get any better either, they too got worse and eventually he stopped sleeping. After a few days without any sleep he found that many of his skills had dulled a bit and he had a hard time keeping track of things and staying focused. Then, one day, he lost track of his location and the time and found himself lost in the jungle, all alone, late in the afternoon, and a storm was brewing. "Well this is jus' great." He muttered sarcastically to himself.

As he wandered around (in weasel form) hoping to bump into his truck the wind started to pick up and there were some rumbles of thunder. Minutes later it began to drizzle, then rain, then a complete downpour. He struggled to stand up in the wind and rain which stung at his body as lightning flashed everywhere and thunder boomed, but his situation was about to go from bad to worse.

There was a loud crack as the wind snapped a large branch. William looked up just in time to see it and get most of his body out the way but his right leg was still under the branch and it fell right on it. "AAGH" Searing pain shot through his body. Ignoring the pain, he tried to turn around and attempt to push the branch off, but he couldn't quite reach it. "WELL THIS IS JUST GREAT, I'M TRAPPED BY THIS FREAKIN' BRANCH IN THIS GOD FORSAKEN WEATHER, JUST FANTASTIC!" He shouted sarcastically. Then his situation, yet again, got even worse. Lightning struck a dead tree a few hundred feet away and set it alight. The fire grew and slowly began advancing towards the trapped human in a weasel body.

Since there was a heavy object on him shape shifting into something bigger and stronger was out of the question so he tried desperately to pull his leg out but that did nothing but make the pain worse. He frantically tried to think of another idea but the only thing he could think of was to call for help, but who would hear it over all this rain and thunder? Even worse he hadn't encountered any sentient being aside from that crazed one eyed weasel and who knows where he could be. _Better than nothing._ He thought as he took a deep breath and yelled at the top of his lungs:"HELP!" He hoped that somebody may have heard him but he doubted it.

As the smoke started to reach him he started coughing and choking on it as the fire got ever closer. _So this is how I'm going to die, burnt alive while trapped by a branch, this is not how I thought it'd end._ He thought hopelessly. For the first time in his adult life he actually felt helpless; he was now sure he was going to die here scared, tired, and alone as tears welled up in his eyes. Normally William didn't fear death but there were a few exceptions, one of them being burnt alive. Soon, everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Buck was huddled up in a tree waiting for the storm to pass when he faintly heard someone yell: "HELP!" As he peeked outside and looked in the direction the sound came from he could see smoke billowing into the air. He felt his heart skip a beat, the jungle was on fire, and whoever that call came from was probably trapped in it. Buck wasn't about to just stand around a let them perish so he braved the weather and ran as fast as he could towards the smoke and flames. The sight that greeted him was like pure hell. The fire was massive and the heat it produced was intense and just a few feet in front of the slowly advancing flames was that shape shifting lad, lying unconscious on the muddy ground. Buck gasped in horror as he ran towards the unconscious body. "Come on, wake up!" He said trying wake him. Then he checked for a pulse. There was still a pulse but it wasn't very strong. Then he noticed the lads leg was stuck under a large branch. His adrenaline pumping, Buck pushed the branch with all his might and managed to get it off the weasels leg. Then he hurriedly picked him up and carried him back to his home and just in time as the fire finally consumed the area they were at just moments before.

(5 days later)

William woke up with a splitting headache. "God, what happened and where am I?" He groaned as he got a good look at his surroundings. He was in a hammock with his right leg propped up and in a leaf cast. Then he noticed that he was in a tree that had some basic furnishing: there was another hammock with a pineapple next to it and there was a stone table with four stone chairs. Clearly this was someones home and the homes owner came swinging in on a vine moments later.

"Ah, I see ya've finally awoken, I brought breakfast."

"Wait, aren't you that crazed weasel who lives down here?"

"Yep, names Buck by the way, short for Buckminster, long for Buh!"

"Okay Buck, could you tell me where I am and what happened? My memories a bit hazy right now."

"Yer leg was stuck under a large branch and ya were about to be overrun by a fire."

"Ah yes, now I remember. So you actually braved the weather and risked your life jus' to save me, a total stranger?"

"Yep, I'm not jus' gonna stand around and do nothin' while someones life is in danger. That and the fact yer the only mammal I know of down 'ere. It gets lonely down 'ere when I'm not seeking adventure or fighting Rudy, you've given me company."

This statement hit William deep in his heart. He'd never had anyone voluntarily risk their life for him. He also knew exactly how Buck felt for he too has been alone for most of his life.

"Uh, Buck?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for savin' me, I was certain that I was goin' to die."

"Don't mention it."

"And I am so sorry for how disrespectful I've been, I-I jus' don't trust people that well, not after what I've been through and admittedly I was a little freaked out."

"Its alright, you wouldn't be the first."

"And... I...I know how you feel."

"About wot?"

"Bein' alone, you see, I've been alone for most of my life. I've never really had any friends, unless you count someone who pretends to be your friend but in reality is usin' you for your wealth, and I haven't had much of a family either."

Now this Buck didn't expect to hear. "Really?"

"Yes, the reasons for this can be traced back to my childhood eighteen years ago but I'd rather not talk about it, its a very painful memory."

Buck was curious of what this painful memory was but decided not to press on the matter besides, he didn't even know this persons name. "By the way, do ya 'ave a name?"

"Oh how rude of me not to introduce myself, my name is Dr. William Johnson."

"Why do ya 'ave two names?"

"Williams my personal name while Johnsons my family name. It's a human thing."

"Speaking of 'umans, yer no' like the ones I remember. I don't remember much about my life before I began livin' down 'ere and I don't remember 'umns bein' able to change wot they are, nor could they talk. By the way you talk kinda funny, I've never 'eard an accent like yours before."

William let out a deep sigh. "Normally I'm really touchy about this subject but since you saved my life and 'cause I imagine you don't know any better I'll cut you some slack. Yes I have a strong southern accent (a North Carolina accent to be precise) and I have had people bring it up. Some say its cute and sexy, I've had a few say its annoying, and I've had those who say I sound uneducated and stupid and it really pisses me off when people assume that I'm stupid and begin to talk to me like I am. In fact onetime I broke someones nose for doin' that and don't even get me started on the stereotypes. If you'd prefer I could speak with a more generic accent, which is what I normally do, or I could use the English accent I picked up from my years living in Britain."

"No its fine, I'm jus' curious. I've never 'eard an accent like yours before. I've also never met anyone who could shape shift either or really any 'uman for tha matter."

"Well believe it or not I'm from the future."

"Well I guess that'd explain all tha weird stuff ya 'ave."

"You seriously believe me?"

"Yeah, why no'? By now I've accepted that anythings possible. Now, since ya've been out for about five days I'd imagine yer 'ungry."

"I've been out for five days?"

"Aye" Buck replied simply. "An ya right legs broken so yer gonna 'ave to stay 'ere until it 'eals."

"I suspected as much and now that you mention it I do feel rather hungry."

"'ear, try this." Buck handed William a strange looking fruit of which is only found in the dinosaur world. "Theres somethin' in this fruit tha 'elps heal injures if ya eat at least two a day."

William gave him a skeptical look. "You serious?"

"I swear, I've used them myself."

William took a bite and found the fruit to be surprisingly sweet. "Not bad, if this really does work then I can see numerous scientific and business opportunities in the form of this fruit, heck, it may contain a cure to some diseases."

"Oh, speaking of fruits, theres someone I'd like ya to meet."

"Oh?"

Buck went over to the other side of the room and picked up a pineapple. "William, this is my wife, Pineapple. Pineapple, this is William."

At first William was confused but soon realized that this made sense since Buck had been down here all alone for so long and remembered that he too had married an inanimate object, so he went with it. "Howdy ma'am." He drawled politely. Predictably the pineapple didn't respond. "So, how long have y'all been married?"

"About three months, I woke up one morning married to 'er and it was at tha point I lost my mind!"

"Did y'all have a honeymoon?"

"Yep, we went to lava falls at night, its quite pretty there once the sun has gone down. Do you 'ave a wife?"

"Actually I do, shes a drop dead gorgeous red 1970 Maserati Ghibli Spider SS. Her name is Masarita and she's 1 of only 25 built. We've been married for about two years. Oh and by spider I don't mean as in a actual spider, thats jus' another word for roadster."

"I 'ave no clue wot a Maserati ghi.. ghiblo... ghib... whatever tha word is spider SS is, is it 'uman?"

"Oh right, how could I forget, I'm in the ice age. Let me put it this way; first of all its not a human, or even a living thing for that matter. Instead Maserati is a large group of people who make smaller, sleeker, faster versions of my truck, sort of, and Ghibli Spyder SS is the model name of one of them. Does that make more sense to you?"

Buck sat there staring for a minute as he tried to take in what William just said."Kinda"

"Good enough"

As the days went by Buck stayed at home with William to make sure that nothing happens to him, only leaving to find food and water. They would generally chat all day. Buck would tell William about his many adventures and his fights with Rudy while William would tell Buck about modern day technology and the future. They also became quite good friends with their personalities, from what they knew of each other so far, being quite similar. Both were crazy (although Buck was the crazier of the two), both were adventurous, brave, skilled fighters, and they both liked to do things that were life threateningly dangerous.

Meanwhile, the healing fruits Buck gave to William were actually working, much to Williams surprise, as he noticed he was recovering unusually quick. What would of taken three months to heal just took a month and a half. Now, for the first time in over a month, William could finally get up and walk. He groaned as he got up, his bones stiff from being inactive for so long.

"Ya need any 'elp?"

"I think I'm good." Replied William as he stretched. "Buck, I must thank you for everything you've done, how could I ever repay you?"

"I'm not done with ya yet."

"Sure you are, I've completely healed and can now fend for myself."

"Yes, but do ya know where ya going?"

"Uh... actually no."

"Then you'll need me to guide ya back to tha thing ya live in. I know this place like the back of my paw, you'll jus' get lost and wander around aimlessly."

"Good point, so do you know where my camper is?"

"I think I saw it last month while out gathering food while you were still unconscious. Its about a two day journey from 'ere on foot. To get there we'll 'ave to go through the jungle of misery, across the pit of doom, and through the meadow of gore."

"Sounds like fun, shall we get goin'?" William said in a cheery tone, his crazier side taking over slightly.

"Bup bup bup, not so fast, I've got rules."

"Oh really?"

"Yep, rule number 1: Always listen to Buck! Rule number 2: Stay in the middle of the trail! And rule number 3..." Buck suddenly gave a very dramatic expression as he paused for suspense. "He who has gas, travels in the back of the pack! Understood?"

William, not sure how to respond to that last rule, just nodded in agreement.

"Splendid, now we may go."

And with that the duo left the tree house and headed for the jungle of misery.

* * *

 **Important note: And thats the first four chapters of the new, improved ANM series. I would greatly appreciate feedback. Is it better, worse, the same as the old and what can be improved? Feel free to ask me any questions, I will answer them. I will say that the changes to these first four chapters aren't as drastic as the ones in the next chapters which should be much larger.**


	5. Chapter 5

**This is where the major changes begin to take place. The new carnivorous plant shares very little (if anything) with the admittedly dull original.**

* * *

Buck and Williams travel to the jungle of misery was uneventful but once they reached the jungle things got a bit livelier. They were constantly being watched, not just by the animals but the plants too. Buck warned William that just about every plant in the jungle could kill and even those that were non lethal would leave him paralyzed in pain or with a terrible itch and rashes. William hadn't really explored this area, he had been in it once very briefly and quickly left once he could no longer bear the feeling of constantly being watched… by everything, and there was always a sense of hidden danger. Nothing in this jungle felt safe even though it was very pretty. Many plants looked too pretty however with big juicy fruits and extravagant flowers, as if they wanted you to come over and take a bite, but a closer inspection would reveal tentacles, teeth, venomous thorns, and just about anything a plant could use to capture and kill prey which greatly unnerved William. Yet he was sure that as long as he stayed close to Buck, as he seemed to know everything about this jungle as he pointed out the deadliest and most subtle of the plants and what areas to stay away from, that he would be safe, but unknowingly both of them walked a little too close to one carnivorous plant that was well hidden and particularly dangerous.

Two vines snuck up on the two weasels and quickly wrapped around their ankle, surprising them both, and began to drag them back. Buck just simply cut the vine with his knife before it could drag him too far. William (Who didn't have any weapons aside from his claws) wasn't so fortunate. He was dragged back towards the plant through some bushes which revealed a giant depression in an equally massive clearing, occupied by multiple giant plants with numerous tentacles of varying sizes with some big enough to grab medium sized dinosaurs. It sort of looked like the sarlacc from Return of the Jedi except much bigger, greener, and with more tentacles and mouths. At seeing this William began to panic as he desperately clawed at the ground, trying to get some grip to stop or at least slow him down but two smaller vines came and wrapped around his arms as he struggled to break free of its powerful grip. "BUCK, HELP!" Then another vine wrapped around his neck and began to strangle him. "c-can't... breath."

Suddenly William heard a battle cry. "YAAAAAAAAA!" As Buck swung in on a vine and launched himself at the tentacles holding William and cut them, freeing him. More vines came and attacked the two weasels but Buck expertly dodged their attacks and fought back, slicing even more vines in two while William retreated back to the relative safety of the jungle (or at least safer than being around the giant carnivorous plant), soon followed by Buck. "Can't stay outta trouble can ya?"

William didn't respond at first as he was still trying to catch his breath. "Thank you... thats twice I now owe you... for savin' my life." This time Buck didn't respond. "Buck?" William then found that Buck was talking to a rock.

"Ellow? Yes everythings fine, just saved William from a carnivores plant. Of course we're okay. Ya worried already, we've only been gone for a few hours and I've been gone for days and ya never called. I know. I love you to. Goodbye... Goodbye." Buck then threw the rock away as if it were trash and noticed that William was looking at him funnily. "Wot?"

"Oh nothin', I just uh, I wanted to thank you for savin' my life... again."

"No problem mate."

"Though I thought we'd be relatively safe if we stayed on the trail?"

"Yeah, I think we might of gone a little too deep into the jungle. The center of the jungle is occupied by tha giant plant and can be extremely dangerous, now, lets get goin'. We need to make as much progress as we can before sunset."

"Why's that?"

"So we can set up camp before it gets dark, ya really don't want to be wondering around 'ere at night. Isn't tha right tree?" Buck then gave a rather offended look. "Well screw you, I don't need your opinion!" Buck half yelled at the tree as he pointed accusingly at it. "Come William, let us leave this rude tree behind."

With that they continued on their way. Things were still relatively uneventful, with the exception of a close call from another, but much less deadly carnivorous plant and a brief fight with a dilophasaur. By sunset they were almost out of the jungle of misery and set up camp close to a creek. While Buck went to gather food William went over to the creek for some water as he was parched but while he drank an idea hit him.

 _I wonder if I could make a whip from a vine? I just need a wooden stub, a long whip like vine, and something to tie the two pieces together_. William knew he'd need some sort of weapon to defend himself properly and the materials needed to make a whip were plentiful down here and they're easy to make and not only would it make an effective weapon but possibly an effective tool as well. He quickly decided that he'd make one so he searched the surrounding area for the needed materials. It didn't take him too long to find them and very soon he had himself a whip. Having made his weapon he went back to camp. It was dusk when he got back and Buck was already there and had started a fire however he looked a little worried. "Somethin' wrong?"

"William! Where've ya been? Ya've been gone so long I thought you'd gotten in more trouble, I was about to go out searchin' for ya."

"Oh I was jus' out making... THIS!" William said as he pulled out his new whip and did a whip crack in the process.

Buck was surprised, he didn't expect William to come back with a weapon of his own, however he wanted to see if this new whip of his was any good and wouldn't just fall apart in the middle of a fight. "May I see tha new whip of yours?"

"Sure, knock yourself out." William said as he handed Buck the whip.

Buck carefully examined it and noted its qualities. The handle was sturdy and provided good grip, the vine had excellent length and was extremely flexible yet very strong, and the build quality was top notch. Then he lashed out with it a few times and nothing felt like it was about to come lose or fall off. _Impressive._ He thought. "William I must say, I'm impressed." He said as he handed back the whip.

"Why thank you, if you'd like I could make one for you."

"Thanks for the offer but I already 'ave one and all I really need is me knife." Buck said twirling his knife in his paw.

"Okay then, so whats for supper?"

"I found this 'ere melon tha we could split up." Buck said before splitting the melon with his knife.

William, anxious to try more of the local prehistoric fruits, wasted no time trying it and found it to be even tastier than the sweetest of modern fruits. "Oh my god this is amazing! This fruit actually puts some candy to shame! Hell, the candy companies will be beggin' me to sell them these!"

"Delicious isn't it?"

"Hell yeah! Why have vegetables when you can have fruits like these?"

"I know, especially... broccoli!" Buck spat out disgustedly.

"You really don't like broccoli do you?"

"No, anything but broccoli!" Buck replied rather dramatically.

After dinner William gathered some leafs and made a make ship bed in a tree but he noticed Buck wasn't doing anything to prepare to sleep. "Aren't you goin' to sleep?"

"Nope, I'll be keeping watch, you go on to sleep."

"Oh, well good night then." William said as he curled up and went to sleep.

"G'night William."

However as William fell into a deep sleep his nightmares returned after a months absence and this time they were much worse than before.


	6. Chapter 6

(Williams dream)

William found himself in a giant empty room surrounded by darkness. "Hello? Anyone there?"

Suddenly the moon lit up and shined down on the surrounding area, revealing his parents and that evil figure that kept showing up in his dreams and he was holding a gun and about to shoot them.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" William yelled furiously as he raced towards the figure but he was too late as the figure shot and killed them before disappearing into thin air just as William was about to pounce on him.

"NO!" William was sent crashing to the ground.

Suddenly a hooded figure in a dark cloak appeared next to him and chuckled evilly.

"Who the hell are you!?" Demanded William.

"Your past, guilt, and fears." The figure hissed menacingly.

"What the hell are you doin' here?"

"I'm here to remind you that you're weak, pathetic, and incapable." The cloaked figure said simply as he began to circle William

"I MOST CERTAINLY AM NOT!"

"YES YOU ARE!" The figure boomed. "IF YOU WEREN'T THEN YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO RELY ON THAT WEASEL TO SAVE YOU AND YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SAVE YOUR PARENTS!"

"HOW!? I WAS ONLY SIX YEARS OLD AND I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE!"

"You could of charged towards the attacker and at least have tried to save your mother." The voice replied coolly.

"THEN HE WOULD HAVE KILLED ME TOO!"

"AT LEAST THEN YOU WOULD OF DIED WITH YOUR PARENTS AND NOT HAVE TO LIVE IN PAIN!"

"YOU ARE ONE SICK TWISTED EVIL PIECE OF..."

"NO!" The figure shouted in a now demonic voice. "YOU ARE A WEAK AND PATHETIC COWARD! YOUR NOTHING MORE THAN A SIMPLE BACK COUNTRY HICK! YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO SAVE THE ONES YOU LOVE AND CARE FOR AND NEVER WILL BE ABLE TO! In fact that weasel friend of yours is going to die trying to save your good for nothing self." The figure said in an all of a sudden cool but dark and sinister tone.

Then William saw Buck fighting some concealed foe but was suddenly eaten.

"NO, THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN, IT CAIN'T, I WON'T LET IT!"

"BUT IT WILL AND YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SAVE HIM BECAUSE YOU'RE INCAPABLE!"

"THATS NOT TRUE! I WILL FIGHT AND I WON'T LET HIM DIE!"

"Oh, but he will, just like your parents." The figure let out a chuckle before he continued. "But maybe I'm being to hard on you, maybe you can save one of them. The question is who are you going to choose?"

Then the images of both his parents and Buck's possible future death start to play again. Without hesitation William runs too them, hoping to save at least one of them but he is then caught and restrained by a pair of strong vines. He tries to fight them and break free but their too strong. Meanwhile the gunman was just about to pull the trigger while Bucks opponent moved in to swallow the weasel and there was nothing William could do about either as the hooded figure laughed maniacally.

"NO! NO!"

(End of dream.)

* * *

"NOOO!" William screamed as he woke up and fell out his makeshift bed. "no" He whispered quietly as tears welled up in his eyes. "Why must you torture me like this?" He wept.

"William, wots wrong?" Buck asked, sounding rather concerned and serious for once.

"The dark side of me jus' said I'm a weakling and never could and never will be able to protect those dearest to me." He wept.

"Why did it say tha?"

"Since the memory has already been triggered I might as well go ahead and tell you 'bout the night that left me mentally scarred for life. It will explain everything."

* * *

Year: 1981 Location: The Johnson's mansion in western North Carolina

It was a dark and gloomy autumn night when a family of three, a six year old William and his father: Dr. Rodney Johnson, then the president and CEO of Black Mesa, and his mother: Dr. Maria Johnson, then the head of the biology department, pulled up in front of their mansion in their Mercedes 280TE. They had been at a fancy restaurant in Charolette for dinner and were just getting back. As his parents were getting out of the car they heard the bushes rustle and out stepped a well dressed man with a sinister grin on his face.

"Well well well, if it isn't my long time enemy Dr. Rodney Johnson and the love of my life of whom you stole from me."

"What do you want now Rick and why are you on our property?"

"Mother, whats going on?"

"Get back in the car sweetie, daddy will take care of this."

"I'm here to get my revenge. You see, you stole Maria, the only girl I have ever loved, from me when you showed up which has ruined my plans for the future."

"I left you because you were mean to everyone and you were selfish and greedy."

"Well you're about to pay for your decision." Rick then pulled out a 357 magnum and shot both of them in the head, right in front of William.

"MOM! DAD!" He cried out in horror as he ran out the car to his now dead parents, sobbing and hugging their lifeless bodys. "No, don't leave me."

Rick just chuckled. "I could never bring myself to kill a child, or at least not one that I don't hold a grudge against, so I'll let you live, but if you report any of this or interfere with any of my business in the future, I will hunt you down and kill you." With that Rick left.

(End of flashback)

* * *

"That night still haunts me to this day and is the source of most of my nightmares. After that night I went into the care of my grandparents who also now owned the company. The shootin' horrified them so they became fiercely over protective. They wouldn't allow anyone, not even the maids or butler near me, but they were so busy 'cause of all the projects we had in the 80's that they hardly had time to spend with me. Most of my childhood was spent alone in my room and even though I lived in a big, lavish house I was all alone, I had no one. No one to talk to, no one to play games with, no one to comfort me, no one for anything. Jus' me and the voices in my head.

William then began to imitate the voices."William you're a loser. You know no one has ever or ever will care about you? You're such a nerd! Hey, I bet the man who killed your parents will come for you tonight! Everything is always your fault William. Oh what, you're upset, what are you gonna do go cry to your mommy? Oh wait you can't CAUSE SHES DEAD!"

"Every day I had to put up with that and still do occasionally. Its like havin' your own personal bully to follow you 'round wherever you go except this bully you can't make go away. And the sad thing is is that I think sometimes the voices were right, no one cares about me. Every time I tried to make friends or get into a relationship it turned out that all they wanted from me was money which is why I'm usually not very trustin' of others and why I try not to get attached to others. Sometimes I think all this wealth is a curse and if it weren't for my hobbies and personal projects I'd get rid of it all and perhaps move to some small town and start over."

Buck felt sorry for William. He couldn't believe he had to witness such a thing at such a young age. He put a comforting paw on William's shoulder. "Look, William, I'm sorry ya lost yer parents at such a young age and 'ad to go through everything ya did. If these dreams continue to bother ya like this jus' let me know and I'll do the best I can to 'elp ya."

William then suddenly embraced Buck in a hug."Thank you, you're the only real friend I've ever had and I want you to know that I'd sacrifice myself for you if I ever have too in order to save your life."

"Wot?"

"Yes, I would, my nightmare also said that you'll die tryin' to save me but I don't think I can stand losin' any one else I care for. My parents were the first and I'm goin' to make sure they're the last." William said trying to pull himself together but failing.

Buck was speechless, he didn't expect William to say that. "Ya don't need to risk yer life jus' for me."

"Yes I do, if I don't then the guilt and depression will probably either drive me towards suicide or turn me into a mostly emotionless blob with no emotion except anger and sadness and absolutely no care for anyone or anything, not even myself. I'd probably spend the rest of my life hidden away in an underground bunker, by myself, no servants or even visitors, jus' me, or I'd jus' lose the will to continue livin' and curl up and die."

"wow" Was all Buck could say about this as he sat there with William for a few more minutes as William slowly pulled himself together.

"Sorry for breakin' down on you like that, its jus' that those memorys bring back so much pain."

"Ya don't need to apologize, I understand."

The two weasels then noticed that the darkness of night was giving way to the light of day as sunlight began to peek through the ice ceiling.

"So, what obstacles await us today?"

"The pit of doom and the meadow of gore which is right next to the pits."

"That should be interesting. Shall we find some breakfast first though?"

"I sure could use something to eat; I've been up all night."

And so the weasel duo went out in search of something to eat.


	7. Chapter 7

After a brief breakfast the duo headed to the pit of doom. When they got near a horrible stench insulted their pores.

"My god, is that tar I smell?"

"Aye! The pit of doom is actually a giant tar pit."

The tar pit had numerous bones and rocks scattered across which were large enough for small animals too use as a crossing, assuming they don't fall off.

"Is there perhaps a detour we could take around the pit?"

"Yes but they're either really long or really deadly; we can either climb tha cliff over there or we can go through the geyser field or we can go around tha too which would add another day to our little journey."

"And how long does it take to cross this?"

"About an hour if ya move at a decent pace and there aren't any 'old ups."

William sighed. "Then the tar pit it is."

"Splendid! Meet ya on the other side!" Buck said cheerfully as he raced across the objects in the pit.

"This'll probably take a few hours." William muttered to himself as he slowly and extra carefully crawled on over the pit. William did not like tar in its natural state. It stunk, was sticky and hard to get off, and of course, if you fall into it you're dead. It took him almost an hour to get half way across. However when he was over three quarters of the way across some pteranodons started circling his position.

"UH, BUCK?"

"YEAH?"

"IS IT A BAD SIGH IF THOSE CREATURES UP THERE ARE CIRCLING ME?"

"UM, YES, YA MIGHT WANNA GET OUTTA THERE NOW!"

Just as Buck had said that one of them dived down for the attack.

"OH CRAP!" William shouted as he started running as fast has he could without falling off. He made it across and sprinted towards a meadow filled with very tall grass and flowers where Buck was waiting, narrowly avoiding being picked up by the flying beasts. "Well that was terrifyin'."

"Well the terrors not over yet 'cause now we 'ave to cross the meadow of gore."

William was now getting a little wary, it was rare for Buck to be this serious which probably meant they were in extreme danger. "Whats with the sudden seriousness?"

"We're in the meadow of gore, this is raptor territory, they can move around in 'ere undetected and ambush ya!" Suddenly they heard a snort and noticed a small group of three grazing iguanodons came into view. "Watch those dinos." After a couple minutes a raptor suddenly jumped on one of the iguanodons, then another, and the other found itself under attack too while the third fled. William watched in horror as the two dinosaurs were quickly taken down by a large pack of raptors. What really scared him was the fact he didn't hear any sounds that would indicate approaching danger."See wot I mean?"

William simply nodded his head.

"Good, now get on all fours and crawl and try to make as little noise as possible."

He obeyed and the duo crept through the meadow, paying close attention to every little noise or movement in the grass. Raptors were no laughing matter, they were fast, agile, smart, well armed for a dino their size and they usually hunted in packs and in this grass they were also very stealthy.

The first half of the crossing was tense but uneventful but half way across Buck detected a raptor and put his arm out in front of William to signal him to halt.

"Theres a raptor up ahead, we'll 'ave to go around em, follow me." They carefully crept around the raptors position and continued forward to the other side. They had almost made it out of the field when they encountered a pack of five raptors.

Buck once again signaled for William to halt. "Theres five raptors up ahead." He whispered quietly.

One of the raptors however apparently heard him and moved in to investigate.

"Get yer weapon ready, we might have to fight our way out." Buck whispered as he grasped his knife.

The raptor spotted them and called for his comrades.

"WE'RE SPOTTED, RUN!"

William didn't need to be told twice as he dashed towards the forest but before he could breach the grass a raptor pinned him with its foot.

"So you think you've won eh? WELL EAT THIS!" He yelled as he lashed out with his whip. The raptor, stunned by the sudden attack, jumped back in pain allowing William to escape and get in a fighting stance. "You want some more of this!?" He taunted, making a loud crack with his whip.

The raptor just hissed and charged. It then leaped in the air hoping to hit the weasel with its large toe claw but William rolled out the way just in time and lashed out at the raptor several more times.

Meanwhile Buck was single handedly fending off four raptors, albeit only just, and they were now encircling him, but there was still a small gap he could escape through and he ceased the opportunity just as the raptors pounced before crashing into each other. While they recovered Buck hopped onto one of the raptors and started whooping and hollering. "YEEHAW come on scaly, show me what ya got!" The raptor let out a furious screech as it began to spin and jump as it desperately tried to get the crazed weasel of its back. Its comrades came to its assistance as one of them tried to whack Buck off but he leapt off the raptors back and onto another as the raptor clawed the other raptors back. The raptor yelped in pain before turning on the other and biting its nose as they both began to fight and ran off chasing each other.

Suddenly he saw a heavily scarred raptor running away from where William was and it was fleeing towards the tree line. Seconds later William burst onto the scene and began attacking the remaining two raptors with his whip, bouncing around everywhere, dodging the raptors attacks with ease while lashing out with his whip. He actually reminded Buck of himself and quickly joined William in the fight. "William, 'ow ya 'olding up?"

"Rather well, you?" William replied as he dodged another attack.

"I'm doing just fine, why don't you take the one yer currently fightin' and I'll take the other?"

"Agreed" The two weasels then attacked the two raptors, William dealing blow after blow with his whip while Buck took every opportunity he got to jab at the other raptor with his knife and when he got a chance to get it in the leg he ceased it and slashed at the raptors leg. The raptor screamed in pain as it fell to the ground.

"Would ya like some more?" Buck snarled menacingly as he pointed his knife at the wounded raptor which scrambled to its feet and limped away as fast as it could. Then the remaining raptor, which wasn't faring to well against William, noticed that it was alone and now up against 2 of these warrior like mammals, decided it was best to retreat and fled.

"YEAH THATS RIGHT, YOU BETTER RUN YOU WUSS!" Taunted William

"So, wot didjya think of your first proper dino fight?"

"Lets just say I can see why you enjoy it. That was probably the most fun I've had in years."

"Glad ya like it, but we better get going if ya want to get 'ome before nightfall."

"Agreed" The two weasels then left the meadow of gore and headed for Williams camper. By the time they got there it was late in the afternoon. "There she is, jus' as I left her. If you'd like, Buck, you can..." William was suddenly interrupted by a very loud nearby roar that was all too familiar to Buck.

"Rudy"


	8. Chapter 8

**Note:This chapter hasn't changed much from the original, just some touching up and corrections. Much bigger changes are in store for the final two chapters however.**

* * *

"Rudy? As in your arch nemesis?"

"Aye"

Rudy came out from behind the trees and glared furiously at the two weasels.

"Wait a minute, I remember you, I saw you when I first got here over a month ago." However he was now a bit bigger up close in person. Rudy just roared and began to chase the two mustelids as they ran for their lives.

"William, go get some vines and tie up 'is legs, I'll go for the snout."

"Got it" William quickly changed course to search for some vines while Rudy continued after Buck. He quickly found some vines large enough for the job and raced back to where the fight raged on and began to wrap it around Rudy's legs while Buck came swinging in with a vine for the snout. Rudy, however, anticipated this and stepped on Williams vine, snapping it, then swatted at Buck, sending him flying into a tree. Then he moved in to make the kill but was soon distracted by a slight slapping sensation down at his foot. He looked down to see William lashing out with his whip.

"WHY DON'T YOU FIGHT ME INSTEAD YOU OVER SIZED BIPEDAL CROCODILE!"

Rudy just looked at him with amusement. He hadn't seen this weasel before so he figured he was new to the whole dino fighting business and would be easy pickings so he moved in to chomp down on the little fool but William easily dodged the attack as Rudy dug his snout into the ground. He then jumped onto Rudy's head as he pulled his snout out the ground. William was soon rejoined by Buck.

"Look out below!" He hollered as he swung in on a vine. "looking for somthin' snowflake?" He teased, wagging his knife in front of one eye.

"Now you have two weasels to play with, what do ya think of them apples?" William teased in front of the other.

Rudy then began to bob and shake his head around, trying to shake them off. They clung on for dear life but William soon started to lose his grip and was flung off into a tree.

"OHHH CRAAAP!" *CRASH* "ow"

Buck managed to hold on for a little while longer but found himself losing his grip as well and soon found himself flying through the air before landing hard on the ground. He groaned in pain but was immediately interrupted by the arrival of Rudy who now had the advantage as he furiously glared at the tiny one eyed weasel. Buck was forced to run for dear life but as he ran he tripped over a hidden root allowing Rudy too catch up and corner him against a large rock.

 _Well Buckminster, it looks like this is the end of the road, but I did have a good run while it lasted._ He thought sadly, but just as Rudy moved in to snatch him up a figure came charging through the bushes.

"NOOOO!" It was William. In those few seconds he quickly pushed Buck out of the way but found himself with no time to escape and was swallowed whole by Rudy who thought he had just eaten Buck.

"WILLIAM!" Buck shouted in horror as he watched the only friend he had down here get snatched up by the jaws of his arch enemy.

Rudy then just turned around and strolled off, satisfied he had finally killed that annoying one eyed weasel, or at least thats what he thought.

Buck didn't know exactly how to feel. He was happy he was still alive but his friend was probably suffering a slow painful death via digestive fluids right now. That thought saddened him and made him feel guilty. Tha shoulda been me, I'm the one Rudy was after, not William." He said to himself sadly. He then noticed that the sky was starting to cloud up like it wanted to rain so he sadly walked back to William's camper, his knife dragging in the dirt.

When he got there he saw that one of the holes was slightly open so he decided to climb up, open it further, and crawl in and spend the night in it. He was sure William wouldn't mind, if he were still alive. The temperature inside was perfect; it wasn't too hot nor too cold. He then moved to the front of the camper and found a giant, human sized bed. He jumped onto it and immediately noticed how soft and comfy it was. He decided to sleep here for tonight, tomorrow he'd make Rudy pay for what he'd done.


	9. Chapter 9

**Note:This chapter has been mostly rewritten. The only thing it shares with the original is William's escape from Rudy and Buck's morning.**

* * *

(Meanwhile, inside Rudy)

William was holding on for dear life as he had only just managed to stop himself from falling into Rudy's stomach. "God that was close though it now looks like I have a fightin' chance." He muttered to himself as he started the long climb back up Rudy's neck.

(An hour later.)

"I... AM NOT... ABOUT... TO BECOME... A DINOSAURS DINNER!" He yelled with each pull as he clawed his way up and grabbed hold of Rudy's uvula. "Lets see if I can recreate Bucks great escape." _And I think I'll claim myself a little trophy while at it._ He mentally added. He started to swing back and forth, building up momentum, then, aiming for the tooth right next to the one Buck took out, he sent himself flying right towards his exit. "BANZI!" He shouted as he hit his mark, knocking out the tooth and landing hard against the ground while Rudy roared in pain and absolute boiling rage.

"I AM A WEASEL GOD!" William declared. "Yeah, how do you like that? Thats the second time you've lost a tooth to a weasel, really makes you question your position in life doesn't it?" And with that he ran to and hid in the bushes until Rudy left. Then it began to rain, though only moderately. "I better get back to the camper before another branch falls on me." He mumbled to himself. However Rudy had taken him far from his camper and it was night and another storm was brewing. "Please don't tell me this will end up like last time." He muttered to himself as he began to follow Rudy's footprints back to his camper.

The jungle was alive with the sounds of the creatures of the night with numerous chirps, croaks, squeaks, and even the occasional roar of a dinosaur, but then he heard something snap nearby and immediacy diverted all his attention in the direction the sound came from and held out the tooth. "I'm warnin' you, I'm not in the mood for a fight but if you attack me it won't end well for you." He bluffed, he knew the tooth wouldn't be of much use without something to hold it with but he wasn't about to give it up.

His fears were confirmed when five familiar raptors emerged from the bushes and surrounded him. His limbs were already soar from climbing up Rudy's throat and he was getting really tired so he doubted he'd be able to hold his own for long so he retreated with the raptors hot on his tail. He only just managed to reach a tree and climb up onto a branch high enough to be out of the raptors reach. He looked down and watched as they tried to jump up and reach him and fail, however they had the tree surrounded and it was unlikely the raptors would be leaving anytime soon so William decided to try and catch some sleep, though it wouldn't be easy on a rather uncomfortable branch with the rain pouring on him and five screeching and hissing raptors below him. _This is gonna be a long night._ He thought as he lied down and tried to catch some sleep.

* * *

The next morning Buck woke up very well rested, having had what was probably the best sleep he'd ever had and he was in a very good mood too until he suddenly remembered: _Williams dead, because of Rudy, and partly myself, but mostly Rudy_. He thought, feeling both sad and angry. _I'll make that over sized lizard pay, probably with another tooth or maybe even an eye. No one kills any friend of mine without paying a price._ He then went up to the open window and yelled: "RUDY, YA MIGHT THINK YA'VE WON, BUT YA HAVEN'T! I'M STILL ALIVE AND WELL AND I'M COMING FOR YA, IF YA THINK YOU CAN JUS' EAT MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY... if I 'ave any... WITHOUT ANY BAD CONSEQUENCES THEN YER WRONG, I'M GONNA GET BACK AT YA ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!" He doubted Rudy heard him but he wanted to get that out and he did feel a tad bit better. After gathering some nearby smoke/stink berries he began his hunt for the great white beast.

* * *

Elsewhere in the jungle William was also waking up. He had a very rough night of on and off sleep and was in no mood to deal with raptors and hoped they'd be gone by now but when he looked down they were still there but four of them were asleep and the one that was awake wasn't paying much attention. _This could be my chance to escape, if I'm careful enough that raptor might not notice me._ William then began to ever so slowly creep towards the tree's trunk but then the lone raptor looked back at the tree and William quickly pretended to be asleep but even though the raptor didn't see any signs to indicate he was awake he had moved just far enough to arouse the raptors suspicion so it called out to its comrades, awakening and alerting them, but William continued to pretend to be asleep. The raptors began to hold what appeared to be the dinosaur equivalent to a conversation and soon parted ways and even after ten minutes they didn't return, so William ceased his act.

"Did they really just leave, or could this be a trap?" He muttered to himself as he began to weigh the risk. "Screw it, I'm leavin'." He finally decided as he crawled back down the tree and carefully set foot on the ground and waited a minute to make sure the raptors were gone, but they didn't come. Figuring he was safe for now he left the tree but after a few steps they returned and surrounded him again. "Of course, I should of figured y'all'd do that." He tried to run back to the tree but one of the raptors blocked his path, and every time he tried to run in another direction another would do the same. Realizing that he had to fight his way out he stuck the tooth in the ground and got out his whip but when he lashed out they'd just dodge the attack. William was getting increasingly desperate; these raptors had learned from their mistakes and were not going to make them again. He then tried lashing out then running and that didn't work either. He knew if he tried to use the tooth the raptors would jump him while he was occupied with getting it out the ground and thats when he knew he was out of options, so he stood up tall and defiant and fearlessly faced the one he assumed to be the leader. "Go ahead, kill me."


	10. Chapter 10

Not too far away, Buck was following Rudys foot prints, hoping they'd lead him to the beast until suddenly he heard someone nearby. "Well, what are y'all waitin' for, eat me, you've won, you got me, I admit defeat."

"Is tha William I hear... no, it can't be... could it?" He asked out loud to himself. That thick accent sounded exactly like William but how could he have possibly survived? Buck decided to find who was making that voice and followed it a short distance until he found, to his horror, a lone weasel, standing tall and defiant while surrounded by five raptors, though they looked weary and confused, probably thinking this might actually be a trap since no one stops fighting and tells you to eat them. _Or is this jus' another 'allucination? Well, better safe than sorry._

"Eat me already, I ain't afraid of death, deaths jus' another adventure and I won't resist, theres no point." Finally, one of them decided to attack but immediately found a smelly green cloud puff up in its face, as did the other four and the cloud also drifted over towards William who could no longer see or smell anything but the green gassy cloud."Whos there? *cough cough* I can take you, I can take just about anyone!" He suddenly felt a strong grip on his arm as he was pulled out of the cloud and once he could see again he was surprised to find it was Buck who pulled him into the bushes. "Buck, how did you find me?" Buck just looked at him suspiciously and poked him. "Uh, Buck, why are you poking me, its me, William."

"Its really you, you're not a 'allucination, you're alive?"

"If I were dead and just a hallucination then would I physically be here?"

"'Ow didjya survive?"

"I climbed up his neck and used your escape tactic, even claimed a tooth. I'll probably turn it into a knife of my own."

"Wow, I'm impressed, but, wheres the tooth?"

"Where I was last standin'."

Buck took a look through the bushes and sure enough there was a large tooth stuck in the ground. "Well, looks like I'm not the only Rudy survivor but... ya know 'e will be 'untin' you too now?"

"That wouldn't surprise me but I can take him."

Buck chuckled. "Thats tha spirit, so, ya wana go back to yer camper or would ya like for me to show ya more of this underground paradise?"

"I'd rather go back to my camper, I had a really rough night and I'd really like to wash up. I still have dino saliva on me and I smell like Rudys breath, its disgustin', and I should probably let everyone know I'm still alive. They're probably beginning to think I'm dead."

"Right, well then, follow me, I'll take ya back to yer camper so you can do wotever."

"Thanks, let me jus' retrieve my trophy... but then again, do you think those raptors are still out there waitin' for us?"

"I doubt it, I think they fled but if they are waiting then I've got your back."

William gave Buck a warm smile. "Thanks bud." He then cautiously left the safety of the bushes and made his way to the tooth, still no raptors, so he pulled it out the ground and ran back to the bushes.

"So thats yer knife?"

"It will be, jus' need to find a handle."

"Tell ya wot, while yer doin' wotever it is ya 'ave to do in your camper I could go find ya a 'andle, I know wot tree 'as the best bark to use for one."

"Why thank you, that would be mighty helpful."

"Don't mention it, besides, you probably should get some rest after all ya went through last night, now, follow me." After a couple hours of travel they finally got back to the camper.

"Finally, I can get some proper rest." William said as he climbed through the window.

"You go ahead and get some rest; I'll go and find ya a good 'andle."

While Buck was out looking for a handle William gave himself a makeshift bath in his sink and after he contacted the science team and let them know he was still alive he took a nap while he waited for Buck to return.

(An hour later)

"William I'm Back." Buck announced as he came through the window, waking William up. "Oh, were you takein' a nap, sorry."

"Its alright, I knew you'd wake me up."

"Oh, well, 'eres yer 'andle and something to tie it to the tooth or would ya like me to do it?"

"Its ok, I'll do it myself." William then spent the next twenty minutes putting the knife together and making sure it was done perfectly and got Bucks approval.

"Again I'm impressed with 'ow well ya put things together, you did a very good job with yer knife"

"Thank you, I am exceptionally good at building and fixin' things, heck, I've been building things since I was a child, I use to build all sorts of things with Legos, Erector sets, and eventually models."

"I 'ave no clue wot any of those are."

"I figured you wouldn't but I think I have some ol' childhood photos lyin' around somewhere in my attic, those made up a good chunk of what little pleasant childhood memorys I have." They then heard a faint sound, one that Buck had never heard but William was quite familiar with. "Oh I think my new, smaller, makeshift mobile home has arrived."

"Is that wots making that strange noise?"

"Yep, come on out and you'll see." Buck followed William, who was going back to his normal human form, outside and what he saw blew his mind. There were several gigantic wingless flying things headed towards them fast, and they were loud, probably louder than even Rudy.

"WOT ARE THOSE AND 'OW DID THEY GET DOWN 'ERE?" He yelled over the sound of the strange flying things.

"THOSE ARE HELICOPTERS AND I ORDERED A GIANT HOLE CUT IN THE ICE SO THEY CAN GET DOWN HERE." Then one of them landed, the downdraft almost blowing Buck off his feet, while another was hooked up to the camper to tow it away while the one on the ground delivered a smaller but still rather large black vehicle and then flew away.

"Wot was all that?"

"Vehicle swap, I've decided to trade creature comforts for speed. Now if the cave I came through was still open I would of used that instead but it somehow collapsed while I was down here, but anyhow, let me introduce you to my primary hobby, collectin' cars and drivin' like a bat out of hell. This is the Lamborghini LM002, the fastest production SUV in the world! She will do 100 MPH on any terrain and on pavement she'll do around 120MPH which is fast for an SUV."

"'ow fast is tha?"

"Fast... by off road standards, but I think you'll enjoy travellin' fast." William then helped Buck into the passenger seat before getting in himself and starting it up with a low rumble. William then rolled down the windows and gunned the engine and the big Lambo just took off. Buck could feel himself being pushed into the leather seats by the acceleration as he watched the scenery begin to fly by.

"We're now over 60!" William announced. Now 70... 80... 90... 100mph!"

"I 'ave no idea wot mph is but 100 of it sounds fast!"

"If you think this is fast then you ain't seen nothin' yet!"

Buck was admittedly quite enjoying the speed; he could feel the wind in his fur and the sensation of moving so fast. Suddenly the big SUV hit a small hill which sent it on a brief flight before crashing down on its front wheels.

"Bloody 'ell, wot was that!?"

"We just caught air!"

"Caught air? 'ow do ya catch air!?"

"Its another way of sayin' all four wheels have left the ground."

"Oh"

At the speeds they were traveling at they could get around the Meadow of Gore and the Pit of Doom in just hours but as they made their way around they came across a familiar face. "Hey look theres Rudy." Just ahead of them, lying in the shade, was Rudy.

"Mornin' Snowflake!" Buck hollered out the window as they drove by, but Rudy didn't bother to give chase.

"You know, now that I've put some thought into it, I actually feel bad for takin' his tooth. I mean, that had to hurt like hell and he'll probably be soar for weeks."

"I know wot yer sayin', I've occasionally felt a tad bit bad for taking 'is tooth too but 'e took my eye and ya 'ave to do wot ya 'ave to too survive."

As they continued onwards to Buck's home William showed off his prowess behind the wheel as he jumped, drifted, and dodged countless near collisions. After a while they finally made it back to Bucks home. "So, wotchya gonna do now?"

"I'll probably go find a place to set up a home and plot out a good pleasure drivin' road and continue with my expedition."

"Oh, well, good luck. You can 'andle yer self right?"

"Of course I can, oh and thanks for everything you've done, if theres ever anything you want from me jus' let me know."

"'appy to 'elp, if ya need me I'm... wot is it now... well why didn't ya tell me tha before I left? I better go, need to take care of my wife, see ya."

"See ya bud." William then left in search of the perfect spot to set up a new house and already he was looking forward to any possible adventures with Buck in the future.

* * *

 **And that was the new ANM. Its not all new but there are some major changes and I think it is better written than the original. Speaking of the original I'm not sure if I should bother keeping it up. I don't see the point in keeping two versions of the same story up. As for ANM 2 I don't think theres enough changes to justify posting a new version so I'll likely replace the existing chapters with the updated version. I expect to have that up within a week or two.**


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